Martin’s QB situation in flux

Nixon High School played against rivals Martin High School at Shirley Field on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018.

Nixon High School played against rivals Martin High School at Shirley Field on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

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Nixon High School played against rivals Martin High School at Shirley Field on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018.

Nixon High School played against rivals Martin High School at Shirley Field on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

Martin’s QB situation in flux

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After suffering a season-opening loss to rival Nixon, the Martin football team looks to regroup in Week 2 as the Tigers take on Carrizo Springs at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shirley Field.

Although Martin looks to get into the win column this season, the Tigers may be without senior quarterback Mathew Duron, who sustained an injury late in the Nixon game. While Duron’s availability is still up in the air, head coach David Charles said Martin is prepared if he cannot play.

“We are ready for it, if it ever happens,” Charles said. “We have several guys there. When it comes to our numbers game, that is the one thing that has always been our biggest problem here.

“Right now (Duron) is day-to-day. He has come a long way since last Friday. He has been going to treatment every day and getting better. We obviously won’t throw him in until he is ready, but he is day-to-day.”

The Tigers’ roster has no backup quarterback listed, but Charles said he knows he has options at signal-caller if it comes to that.

When Duron left the Nixon game, receiver Jose Castaneda came in at quarterback and went 0-for-2 with an interception. Charles said Martin will more than likely roll with Castaneda at the spot once again while facing Carrizo Springs.

“(Castaneda) has been looking good this week,” Charles said. “He has a different skill set than what (Duron) brings to the table. But we are confident in his abilities at quarterback.”

When it comes to Carrizo Springs, Charles said Martin is expecting to face a good team on Thursday.

Last Friday against Dilley, the Wildcats won 26-14. In that win, Carrizo Springs ran for 229 yards while only throwing for 44. Charles said his team should be prepared for the Wildcats’ rushing attack considering they played Nixon.

“Our run defense had a lot of practice last week against Nixon,” Charles said. “They are a very good rushing team. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. However, I feel like my run defense is up to the task this week.”

Against Nixon, Martin allowed 286 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries.

Charles said while Carrizo Springs runs effectively, the Wildcats possess an offense that is capable of giving them multiple looks.

“They can spread you out,” Charles said. “They run a very different offense than Nixon.”

Charles also said Carrizo Springs has a stout defense.

Although Martin would have liked to have started 1-0, the Tigers know that there are more games to be played this season. And against Carrizo Springs, Charles believes Martin is ready to get into the win column.

“We treated last week’s game like it was any other game,” Charles said. “We obviously didn’t start the season off the way we wanted to, but there are 10 more games to go. We played a very emotional, tough game last week. However, we got better over the week. After watching film on Saturday, no one has talked about the Nixon game. All eyes were on Carrizo Springs this week, and I’m confident that our players will come out ready.”